


Masquerade

by OnlyOneKingLoki



Category: Loki - Fandom
Genre: 1800's AU, AU, F/M, Masquerade Ball Au, for TheBrideOfDarkness, here be smut, my darling girl
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-22
Updated: 2015-09-30
Packaged: 2018-03-25 07:37:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3802207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnlyOneKingLoki/pseuds/OnlyOneKingLoki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The reader meets Loki at a ball, and they find out that their lives are more inexplicably entwined than they previously realized.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For my darling TheBrideOfDarkness. I hope you like it, love!

A symphony of notes cascaded over my ears, and ball gowns swished around me. The ball was flourishing and fluttering with ladies around the room and bachelors of all sorts. The anonymity provided by the intricate masks each man and woman wore allowed them to mingle more freely, because social status was no longer an issue. Lovers could meet in relative secret, but they were still limited as to what they could do. I’d never been to a masquerade ball before, but I found it quite thrilling. I’d been asked to dance no less than three times already, which is three times more than the last regular ball I’d attended. I suppose there is a social stigma against dancing with girls whose parents had been murdered. I curtsied to my latest partner and scurried out onto the terrace for a bit of fresh air.

I leaned against the railing a bit for support and admired the beauty of the host’s manor and grounds at night. Lanterns were placed strategically throughout the gardens below, making the entire property look like a fairy land. I was so caught up by the grandeur that I was unaware of the click of polished shoes against the store of the balcony as a man approached.

“Good evening, my lady,” a silken voice called, and I turned with a start. Behind me stood a tall gentleman whom I didn’t think I’d ever seen before. Certainly his voice was unfamiliar, as was his graceful stance. He wore a silver mask that covered the skin around his eyes and his forehead, but it couldn’t quite hide his sharp cheekbones. “Forgive me, my lady. I had no intention of frightening you.”

“There is nothing to forgive, sir. I was lost in thought,” I replied with a curtsy. The tall gentleman bowed in response and smiled. “It is a beautiful ball, is it not?”

“That it is, my lady. The guests, I believe, are what make it so,” the man said, moving to stand beside me at the railing. “I’ve never been attracted to grandeur of any sort. Without the guests here to give this large, overly opulent manor life, it is simply lifeless stone: cold and lonely. Our host is alone here and hates the echoes of the empty hallways…or so I would imagine. Forgive me, my lady. Here I am rambling on about stones when I am most probably interrupting your stolen moment of solitude. I shall leave you in peace.”

“Please, don’t,” I said, stopping him in his tracks as he turned to leave. “I don’t mind having company, and I find I rather enjoy yours, sir.”

The man turned to face me once more, and I blushed, knowing my mask wouldn’t cover it.

“Would you care to take a walk through the gardens with me?” He held his arm out to me, and I took it.

“May I ask your name, sir?” I asked, and his eyes widened.

“A thousand apologies to you, my lady, for my continued rudeness. I should have introduced myself from the start,” he said. “My name is Loki Laufeyson.”

 _Loki Laufeyson?_ That was the name of the ball’s host!

“Ah, I see you recognize my name. May I now ask yours, my lady?”

“(Y/n), sir. (Y/f/n) (y/l/n),” I replied, and I saw a flicker of recognition in his eyes.

“Ah! I believe I knew your father for a time, or at least he knew me when I was nearing the end of my childhood,” Loki said, and I felt my brain slow to a halt. “Forgive me, dear lady. I did not mean to bring back painful memories.”

He had brought them back, but I did not hold it against him. It was a mere slip of the tongue. Loki touched my elbow soothingly and started guiding me from the ballroom.

“My lady, I have something I’d like to show you, if I may,” he said, and I mutely nodded my head. I was still in shock that he’d known my father. Loki led me down endless corridors, taking me through a maze of stone, statues, and paintings, hoping that I was never instructed to find my own way. Finally, Loki opened a large set of double doors for me to reveal the largest library I’d seen in my life. Shelf after shelf of leather-bound volumes lined the walls, and the scents of paper and ink washed over me in a soothing wave. “When my father was too busy for me, I came and spent time in here. I wasn’t like my dear late brother Thor, in that I was more academically inclined than he was. Whenever your father and mine would do business together, I would watch them from the window over there. One day, your father saw me and came up to speak with me. He gave me this.”

Loki walked over to a small chest of drawers on a table top and opened the bottom drawer. He pulled out a silver set of cuff links shaped like arrows.

“He told me that as he had no sons or nephews, he wanted to pass these on to somebody who would appreciate them, He reasoned that since I was fond of reading, I would be a better candidate than Thor,” Loki said. “Your father said they’d been in your family for over one hundred years. I thought that as you were here and you were his daughter, you should have them.”

“Oh no, sir! My father gave them to you,” I said, closing Loki’s fingers over the cuff links. “It was clearly his will that you should have them. I would never go against his wishes.”

“As you wish, darling, but please know that they are always here if you want to reclaim them,” he said covering my small hands with his large one. I felt a spark pass between us as our skin touched, and I saw his pupils dilate. My tongue flicked out over my bottom lip, and Loki mirrored my action. “Would you still like to take a walk through the gardens, my lady?”

His voice was noticeably softer and a bit rougher when he asked. I couldn’t find my own voice, so I nodded my head carefully. When Loki moved to put the cuff links away, I barely masked my disappointment at the loss of his warm hands. I was not left without contact for long, because Loki soon turned and placed an arm around my waist to guide me in the right direction. We passed by the ballroom once more and a few of the masked ladies stared at us as we went. When we reached the gardens, Loki led us down a small path through the hedges. I understood now why he’d had the lanterns placed so carefully. We walked until we reached a small fountain, then Loki guided me to a bench.

“My lady, I know this is a masquerade ball, but I wish for you to see me,” Loki said as he reached around and untied his mask. The shining silver obstruction fell away to reveal Loki’s smooth porcelain skin. His piercing green eyes looked suddenly vulnerable as I beheld him, as if he was afraid I would find him to be anything less than gorgeous. As I blinked, a flash of memory came back to me.

_I was standing in a large crowd gathered around a large hole in the ground. A grave. As the coffin was lowered, I raised my gaze and stopped when I saw a pair of green eyes staring at me. The boy was pale with black hair. He was perhaps fourteen where I was ten. He was one of the dead man’s sons. The elder of the two was standing beside the staring boy. His hair was golden like the tint of his skin. He seemed much more saddened than his younger brother, and his eyes were fixed on the coffin. I squeezed my father’s hand tighter as I noticed the younger boy still staring at me with what I perceived as calculation._

Those same eyes were staring at me now, but with concern instead of calculation.


	2. Chapter 2

“(Y/n)? Is there something amiss?” He asked, and I snapped out of my trance. I swallowed thickly and cleared my throat.

“Forgive me, my lord. I…I remembered something…about you,” I said and I saw his brows furrow a little in confusion. “I remembered your father’s funeral. You stood on the other side of the grave, and I remember how you stared right through me.”

Loki’s eyes flashed with comprehension, and he reached up to untie my mask. The barrier fell away and Loki smiled brightly.

“It was you! You were the pretty girl I saw that day!” Loki cried out, and without warning, he leaned forward and kissed both my cheeks. “I kept wondering how such a pretty little thing got so tangled up in such a sordid affair.”

“Sordid? I thought…Forgive me, my ignorance, sir, but I thought your father’s death was from natural causes,” I said, and Loki’s smile vanished. He gave a nervous laugh before he spoke.

“My lady, I do not wish to involve you in such a dangerous affair, but as my suspicions involve your family’s deaths as well, I think it is best that you know all,” he said. “My father’s death was not of natural causes as my brother and I suggested. We had an autopsy performed as we were suspicious from the start, and we paid off the coroner to keep the real results a secret. We… _encouraged_ him to put forth the cause of death as ‘natural causes.’”

“What was the real cause?”

“Poison,” Loki said in a somber voice. “It was very subtly done. The coroner said that whatever the substance was left traces similar to three different poisons. Thor and I worked tirelessly to find an antidote and finally managed to do so after a few years, but soon after Thor himself was shot as he slept. I heard the gunshot and ran into his bedroom in time to see the silhouette of a man running across the grounds. He doesn’t know that I recognized him.”

“Why did he kill Thor?”

“Thor had been investigating the circumstances surrounding our father’s death. One can only assume that he knew too much and the killer needed him out of the way. And God knows if that oaf thought he knew who it was he would have confronted him about it,” Loki said, shaking his head ruefully. He turned and caressed my cheek. “My dear, do you…? That is to say…Do you live alone?”

“No, sir. I live with a relative,” I answered.

“May I ask which relative, darling?” He asked, and though I thought the question was strange, I answered him.

“My uncle, sir. My father’s brother,” I said, and I saw Loki’s eyes widen.

“Quickly, darling, did he know you were coming here this evening?” Loki asked as he pulled me to my feet and started leading me back toward his house. I was thoroughly confused, but I trusted Loki implicitly.

“Not here, specifically. He knew I was attending a ball, but he was not told which one,” I said, realizing we’d left our masked behind. “Loki, our masks! The other guests will talk!”

“Let them talk,” he replied as he led me back toward the house. Suddenly, he stopped and turned to face me. “Forgive me, my darling. I am acting in your best interests. When we rejoin the party, I want you to leave immediately. I want you to go home and make sure your Uncle never finds out you were here.”

“Why, Loki? Do you not wish to see me again?”

“Of course I want to see you again, but if your uncle has an inkling of suspicion that you saw me—that you know me—I may not be able to stop it,” Loki said, shaking his head. His eyes were nearly frantic, but he leaned forward, nonetheless, and kissed me. His large hands framed my face as his lips claimed mine, and my eyelids fluttered shut. I simply couldn’t fathom why he would kiss me, but I most certainly wasn’t arguing. In fact, I found myself responding eagerly, wrapping my arms around his waist and pulling him closer to me. The tall, gorgeous man moaned into my mouth and gently parted my lips with his tongue. He was, indeed, skilled when it came to the art of kissing, and I could feel the edges of my restraint fraying as I moaned into Lord Loki’s mouth. His hands slid up and removed the clip in my hair, allowing my locks to tumble down into his waiting hands. I boldly removed the ribbon that was holding his long, raven hair back and tangled my fingers in the silken strands that gracefully blew in the gentle breeze. When we finally separated for air, Loki kissed my forehead and smiled at me. “My lady, will you call on me here tomorrow at four? I will show you all of my findings then, I swear.”

Unable to find my voice, I simply nodded my head and allowed him to lead me through the halls to the front of the house. I caught the elbow of one of my friends and asked her if she could provide me with an alibi for the next day. With her consent, I thanked her and Loki led me out onto the front steps. He signaled for my driver and my carriage pulled around.

“I beg you, please, do not tell your uncle that you know me,” Loki said, clasping my hands against his chest, and I agreed readily. “Very well, my lady. I wish you a safe journey home.”

Loki kissed my lips softly and helped me into the carriage. I watched his form fading into the darkness as the carriage rode farther and farther away. I wondered what he’d meant about my uncle. I would certainly do as Loki asked, and when I exited the carriage, I left express instructions for the driver to remain silent about whose home we’d visited that night. He’d been my friend since I was little—one of the few who’d remained after the deaths of my parents—so I trusted him with my life as well as my secrets. I also informed him about my journey the next day, and he swore that he’d keep silent about the destination and only report the cover story which I provided. I waltzed up to my room, barely noticing my uncle’s presence and completely unaware that he’d asked me a question.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really should have updated this a long time ago, but I completely forgot that I'd written he chapter already.

The next day came both too quickly and too slowly. When the time came to disembark, I dressed in a rush and hurried out to the carriage. Mr. Wells, the driver, tried to help me in, but I was so excited that I hopped in before he could. He gave a small chuckle and climbed into the driver’s seat. As we bumped and bounced along, I pondered everything the Lord Loki had told me. Could it really be possible that my parents and his brother and father were all killed by the same person? And why didn’t he want me to tell my Uncle Ned where I was going? _Perhaps_ , I thought. It is a matter of propriety. _He may simply wish to keep his name out of association with my own._ I wouldn’t blame him if that were the case.

“Here we are, Miss,” Mr. Wells said as he opened the carriage door for me. I hadn’t noticed that we’d arrived, so deep was I in my thoughts. I allowed him to help me down to the ground and kiss the back of my hand ceremoniously. The man always did have a bit of a flare for the dramatic. He used to call me ‘your majesty’ and ‘princess’ when I was little. Mr. Wells was a dear man, and I didn’t know what I would do without him. He saw how nervous I was and knelt in front of me, still clutching my hand. “My fair lady, I shall be awaiting your command to bring you home. And should that Lord Laufeyson try to harm you, I shall jump to your defense with riding crop and sword in hand. You need only say the word, my lady. I am devoted to your service.”

I couldn’t help but giggle at this. It was the same routine he’d performed whenever he drove me to a friend’s house in my childhood.

“Thank you, kind sir,” I replied with a curtsy. I leaned down and kissed his forehead, making him blush. “I shall be sure to send for you if the man’s hands should wander a little too freely.”

A throat was cleared to our left, and both Mr. Wells and I turned our heads to see Lord Loki Laufeyson standing regally before us. Mr. Wells rose quickly to his feet and executed a low bow. I imitated his courtesy by dipping down into a respectful curtsy.

“Oh! Please, there is no need,” Loki said before bowing deeply to the both of us. He strode over to Mr. Wells and shook his hand. “You have my gratitude, sir, for bringing your lady here safely. Lady (y/n), would you accompany me, please?”

Loki offered me his arm, and I took it gratefully as he led me into his home. In the daylight, I was even more struck by the gorgeous architecture. The hallways were dimly lit, yet it was enough to make out the textures of rich tapestries and decorations that were much more expensive than anything in even my uncle’s home. I recognized a few of the turns we made from the night before, and we eventually ended up in his breathtaking library. Today, the curtains were open, allowing light to flood in from outside. The room had been rather dark the night before, so in the additional lighting, I was struck again by how many books Loki had. I vaguely heard the double doors close before I felt a pair of distinctly masculine arms wrap around my waist from behind. Hot breath tickled the outer shell of my ear, making my mouth drop open slightly with desire at the sound of Loki so close to me.

“Forgive me, my lady, for what I am going to do presently,” he murmured as he started pressing soft kisses down the exposed flesh of my neck. My chest started heaving in my corset, and the garment suddenly felt too tight, to constricting—I needed it off. I shifted a little in his arms to accommodate my breathing, and felt something hard pressing against my lower back. When I realized what it was, I froze. Loki must have noticed my lack of movement, because he gently grasped my shoulders and turned me to face him. For a long moment, he did nothing more than look at me with an inscrutable expression, then he leaned forward ever-so-slowly and brushed his lips against mine. We looked at each other heatedly before Loki framed my face with his hands and captured my lips with his. This was wrong. This was so very wrong. We had not so much as agreed to courtship, yet here we were locked in a passionate embrace, tongues battling and breaths stuttering. If only my uncle had known where I was headed when I rode out in the carriage. He would not have allowed such a thing. My thoughts were curtailed when Loki’s lips started making their way—burning and warm and oh-so wet—down my neck and onto my collarbones. “I could devour you, sweetling. You are sinfully delicious, yet…if this is sin…then I no longer wish to be pure…”

Loki’s words were gasped out between kisses and moans, and I whimpered incoherently, attempting to speak of propriety and purity. When that did not deter my passionate companion, I settled for simply murmuring his name in a seductive voice.

“(Y/n), dearest…Oh, darling, I-I need you more than you could possibly realize,” he said as his hands slid slowly up and down my back. His touch was fire, even through the thick layers of my clothing. Just when his started fiddling with the laces at the top of my dress, a loud shot rang out and we clung to each other. Loki turned toward the window, and gestured for me to stay down and stay quiet. He extinguished the candles in the library then carefully approached the window. “Oh dear heavens! He’s here! The murder has come to find me, and he’s shot your driver.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *****TRIGGER WARNING*****
> 
> **There is attempted rape in this chapter. If that triggers you in any way, shape, or form, please do NOT read this chapter!**

My heart leapt into my throat at Loki’s declaration. He hurried away from the window and grabbed my hands. His eyes flitted over my face before he seemed to reach a decision within his mind. Without hesitation, Loki pulled me into his arms and kissed me with a dizzying passion.

“He knows nothing of your presence here, my lady,” Loki said in a shaky voice when we pulled apart. “I promise I will not allow harm to come to you, but you must trust me.”

“Of course I trust you, Loki, but I must know,” I said in a rush as he started leading me toward one of his bookshelves. “Who is the murderer? And why?”

“I shall tell you once we’ve reached safety,” Loki said as he pulled at a book on the shelf. I could hear a mechanism clicking away behind the shelf, then a hidden door swung inward to reveal a secret passage. There was a staircase leading downward, and it seemed as though there was light coming from the far end as though from a torch. “Follow me.”

We walked down the stairs, going further and further until the floor came into view. For what I estimated to be around half a mile, we hurried through the tunnel that now had a level floor. Finally, a large door loomed at the end of the passage, and Loki handed me the torch and wrestled the door open. I blinked rapidly as light poured into the tunnel.

“Wh-Where are we?” I asked, and Loki put the torch out with dirt from the floor.

“This leads to a hidden stable that where I keep a horse. You should be able to get far away while I deal with the murderer,” he said, and I grasped his arm before he could walk out.

“Deal with the murderer? Without me? Oh no, I don’t think so, Loki,” I said as I pulled him away from the entrance. “There is no way on God’s green earth that I am going to allow you to do this on your own. I’m coming with you, and don’t you dare think you can talk me out of this. I’m not going to allow my absence when you need help to be what kills you.”

“You don’t understand! If he sees you, he _will not hesitate_ to kill you!” Loki exclaimed as he grasped my shoulders. “(Y/n), you need to let me protect you! I refuse to be the reason that you get murdered!”

“Loki, I—“

“Well, well! What do we have here?” A voice called from the doorway. I’d heard it before thousands of times, and I turned to face the speaker squinting against the light. “Oh, how very unfortunate that you came here this morning, (y/n).”

“Uncle? What are you doing here?” I asked as I took a tentative step toward him. Before I could move any closer, Loki grabbed me around my waist and moved me behind him.

“You stupid girl,” my uncle said in a cold, menacing voice. “Have you not figured it out yet?”

He took a step forward, and Loki countered with one step back.

“You see? I even frighten the great Lord Loki,” my uncle said as he reached behind him and pulled out a pistol.

“I-It was you!” I gasped from behind Loki’s back. “You killed my parents! You killed Loki’s father and brother! And you…you shot Mr. Wells!”

I was in shock as my uncle let loose a low, unsettling laugh.

“That’s right, my foolish little niece.”

“Why?” Loki asked in much more confident voice than I would’ve been able to manage. My uncle scoffed and looked at us incredulously.

“Isn’t it obvious? My brother’s business had quadruple the success that mine did,” he said. “I planned to off my hapless brother and his witless whore of a wife, but your father—oh, your thrice-damned father—had to stick his bulbous nose where he didn’t belong. I did away with him first, then killed then origin of my true vexation. I had hoped that would be the end of the whole messy business, leaving me filthy fucking rich, but no. You and your brother had to get involved. As soon as he confronted me, I knew I had to act. I shot him through his beautiful, golden forehead. (Y/n), he would have made a good husband for you. He was just as clueless as you are. You are all…so… _stupid!_ ”

He growled the last word venomously, and I clutched at Loki feeling helpless.

“Do you know what I’m going to do now? Hm? No? Well, then allow me to enlighten you,” he said, and he lowered the gun. A shot rang out, and Loki fell clutching at his leg, leaving me vulnerable. My uncle then pointed the gun at me and smiled poisonously. “Now that your beau is out of the way, I shall put the rest of my plan into action. What shall they say when they find both your dead bodies? Oh, I know! They will find your skirts torn off and your sweet quim violated. It will be assumed that Lord Loki here raped and shot you in a moment of madness, then when he came around, he killed himself in remorse.”

“R-raped?”

“Oh, yes. Didn’t your dear father tell you? You’re adopted. You are the daughter of a woman who was much too beautiful for her own good,” my uncle said as he pinned me against the wall and freed his stiffened member with one hand. The metal of the gun brushed against my cheek, and he tore my skirt. “I may have never had the chance to feel her sweet wetness, but you…you I shall claim as my own.”

He pressed his lips violently against mine and I uttered a muffled cry. He shook against me and a loud explosion issued in front of me. My uncle’s lips fell away from mine, and he collapsed in front of me, still exposed in an unseemly manner. Mr. Wells stood just in front of me with a gun pointed where my uncle’s head was a moment before. Tears of fear pooled in my eyes and I felt myself trembling.

“L-Loki…” I breathed, and Mr. Wells dropped the gun as if he’d been burned. He turned to face me and drew me into his arms just as I started to cry. One of his arms didn’t work very well, and I saw a gunshot wound in his left shoulder.

“Hush, princess. He won’t hurt you none now,” Mr. Wells crooned, and after a moment I turned and ran to Loki where he lay on the ground.

“He almost…Oh, fuck, he almost…” Loki ground out as he drew me into his lap despite my torn skirt and his hurt leg.


End file.
